PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE

● An unexamined life is not

SELF
What is Philosophy? worth living
o The goal is to “know
● Philo = love
yourself”
● Sophia = wisdom o The most horrible thing
that can happen to
● Philo + Sophia = love of wisdom anybody is to “live but die
inside”
● Philosophy is an activity people
undertake when they seek to ● Annoying Philosopher
understand fundamental truths o Preferred death over exile
● Philosophers are known as the o He was charged with
corrupting the youth of the
greatest thinkers
city.
o He was sentenced to
Ancient Philosophers
1. Socrates death by drinking hemlock
poison
● Father of Western Philosophy o Constantly looks for
The Self according to Socrates imperfections in the ideas
of others, which is actually
Body Soul
the heart of his
Physical, Immortal and philosophy.
Tangible, Mortal unchanging ● He insisted that death is not
Attached with Attached with the end of existence, rather it
each other when each other when is simply the separation of the
alive alive soul from the body.
Both parts are Both parts are ● Just because something
present in the present in the seems true does not mean it
physical realm physical realm is true.
o The distinction
Upon death, it Upon death, it will
will stay in the travel to the ideal between knowledge
physical realm realm and belief: distinction is
always and universally
● The true self is not about true, while belief is only
true in certain
what we own, our social
circumstance
status, our reputation, or even
body.
o Our true self is our soul. 2. Plato
● The highest form of human ● Student of Socrates
excellence is to question o Wrote Socrates’ teachings
oneself and others
● Founded an academy
● Ignorance is the beginning of
The Self according to Plato
wisdom
Body Soul
Perishable, Immortal o Virtue - doing what is
Changing, best for you that which
Transitory leads you to the
attainment of your own
Shell of the soul Giver of life to the
perfection happiness
body
● The body and the soul are
Permanent,
one
Changeless, Divine
o self is composed of
Self is a soul using a body body and soul, mind
and matter, sense and
● “ Immortal soul in a mortal intellect, passion and
perishable body” reason
● Tripartite Soul
o Rational | Logical ● REASON is supreme in human
‐ seeks truth and person and so should govern
is swayed by all the life's activities (mind
over matter)
facts and
arguments ● Rational Being as a Man
o Spirited | Emotional o Rational (Man)
‐ how feelings fuel o Sentient (Animal)
your actions o Vegetative (Plant)
o Appetitive | Physical ● Reason over senses
Desires
o Reason = Happiness
‐ drives you to eat,
have sex, and o Senses = Chaos
protect yourself
● Golden Mean
● Our life’s journey is a o Living life in
continuous striving to free moderation, is doing
our soul from imprisonment things in consonance
with reason
● Called the body the prison of
o By living in accordance
the soul to the golden mean, we
o idea of reincarnation will achieve
● Soul is immortal, separated Eudaimonia
from the body and eternal
Medieval Philosophers
1. St. Augustine
3. Aristotle
● Self is made up of a body and
● Student of Plato
a soul
● Composite View of self The Self according to St. Augustine

● Happiness comes from Body Soul

wisdom and virtue Imperfect Capable of
o Wisdom - true aspect of man reaching
knowledge that is bound to immortality by
perish on earth staying after death because it houses our
in an eternal realm drives, intellect,
with the all- passion, and
transcendent God understanding, and it
gives us our identity
● Defined self in the context of and our sense of self
his relationship with God o All that we are really
o Happiness is found in comes from the mind
God alone The Self according to Rene
o “My heart is restless Descartes
until it rests in you” Material Body Mind
● The purpose of every human
Should not be The thing that
person is to attain this trusted thinks
spiritual union with God by
living his life according to ● Realities should be subjected
virtues to doubt
● City of Man & City of God ● Cogito Ergo Sum
o I think therefore I am
2. St. Thomas Aquinas
o I doubt therefore I exist
● United faith and reason o ”nothing but a thinking
o Some truths are known thing that doubts,
through reason, and understands, affirms,
some are known denies, is willing, is
through divine unwilling, and also
revelation imagines and has
The Self according to St. Aquinas sensory percpetions”

Matter/Body/ Form/Soul/ 2. John Locke

Hyle Morphe
● Father of Empricism
Body Animates the body o Knowledge came from
Man is an embodied soul experiences (senses)

Modern Philosophers ● Tabula Rasa

1. Rene Descartes o “human mind at birth is
● Father of Modern Philosophy tabula rasa”
o “Experience is the best
● Founded Dualism teacher”
o Existence is divided o The idea that
into 2 distinct parts: individuals are born
Mind and Soul without any mental
content, therefore,
● Founded Rationalism
knowledge of
o Reason is the source of something comes from
knowledge experience or
o Mind is the seat of our perception
consciousness,
 ● Identity means being one From direct Copies of
experiences impression
thing and not another
o He believed that our Everything that are just faint
identity is tied with our originate from images of
consciousness, which our senses thinking and
to him, is the reasoning based
perception of what on impressions
passes in a man’s own
mind. Contemporary Philosophers
o In other words, it 1. Gilbert Ryle
(consciousness)
● “I act therefore; I am”
comprises our
memories ● Mind is never separated from
● Principle of Individuation the body
o The idea that a person ● We are all just a bundle of
keeps the same
behaviors
identity over time
o Our identity is not ● Self is simply a convenient
defined by our physical name that people use to refer
being to all behaviors
o Our memories give us
our identity 2. Paul Churchland
● Materialism
3. David Hume
● Lack of self theory ● Physical Brain is where we

o There is no self get our sense of self

● If a things can’t be recognize
● He held to empiricism, the
by the senses, then it is not
theory that all knowledge is
real
derived from human senses
o It is only through our ● Decision-making & Moral
physical experiences Behavior are a Biological
using our senses that Phenomena
we know what we
● Eliminative materialism, the
know
belief that nothing but matter
● Bundle theory
exists
o asserts that the o If a thing cannot be
properties we can recognized by the
sense are the only real senses, it doesn’t exist
parts of an object
● Self is just a bundle of 3. Immanuel Kant

impressions
The Self according to David Hume ● German Philosopher

Impression Idea ● Rationalist view (a priori) of

Descartes and the Empiricist
 view ( a posteriori) of Locke and
● Mind and body are
Hume
interconnected
● Empiricism as the only path to o all experience is embodied
true knowledge (knowledge is
● Self is an inextricable UNION
only obtained through senses)
o To see is to believe between mind and body are so
intertwined the we cannot even
● Rationalism distinguish where the work of
o Reason is the foundation the ends and the body begins
of all knowledge rather ● Believed the physical body to be
than experience
an important part of what makes
up the subjective self
● Apparatus of the mind
● Subjectivity, or subject, is
● Self is an actively engaged something that has been.
intelligence in man that o It is defined as a real thing
synthesizes all knowledge and that can take real action
experience and cause real effects. It
exists.
● Inner self
o comprised of our
psychological state and
our rational intellect
● Outer self
o includes our sense and the
physical world
● When speaking of the inner self,
there is apperception, which is
how we mentally assimilate a
new idea into old ones. It is how
we make sense of new things
o Self is transcendental
o Philosophy called
Transcendental Unity of
Apperception
● As a fragment of the outer self,
Kant argued about a mental
imagery based on past
sensations and experiences
called representation, which
occurs through our senses

4. Maurice Merleau-Ponty
● French Philosopher
 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE only from past
SELF experiences but from what
others think as well, and
The sociological and anthropological then reacts to the
perspectives of the self tell us that the judgement of other
‘self’ is a by-product of one’s interaction
people’s views
with the environment, and not because of
- developing self-concept:
the mind or the soul infused into us.
a sense of self-image is
formed and seen as the
● Charles-Horton Cooley ‘this is who I am’ stage
▪ Primary Groups o People do not “judge” you. It’s
just the way you think about
o Small group of people who
how people see you
share intimate relationship
with each other
o Main source and basic ● Erving Goffman
foundation of an individual’s ▪ Dramaturgical Theory
sense of self and identity
o People are actors
▪ Looking-Glass Self Theory o Front Stage, Back Stage,
o People create their self-image Impression Management
based on how they think
others see them ● Leon Festinger
o Three Phases of the
Looking-glass Self Theory ▪ Self-Comparison Theory
1. We imagine how we o Self-evaluation
present ourselves to o Self-enhancement
others o Upward Social Comparison
2. We imagine how others o Downward Social
evaluate us Comparison
3. We develop some sort ‐ Passive downward
of feeling about social comparison
ourselves based upon ‐ Active downward
our perception of what social comparison
we think others have of
us Self-identity – the way you see yourself
o Beginning after birth, the self ‐ it shapes your perceptions or the
continues to develop way you see the world, your
throughout a person’s life attitude or the way you think or feel
through the following stages: about something, your values or
- imagining: occurs when what you think is right or wrong, and
an individual judges the beliefs or what you see as true and
way he or she acts and untrue.
appears from the POV of Social identity – the way others see you
the family and friends - it is influenced by others’
- interpreting: a learned perceptions, attitudes, values, and
ability which occurs when beliefs.
a person elicits
conclusions coming not
Stereotypes – the assumptions that are o Generalized other – where
made about individuals because they children and young adults
belong to a particular social group interact with society and
Sense of self – defined as a collection of adopt to other people’s
beliefs we hold about ourselves. We put expectations
together these beliefs based upon our
o employs societal control over
social interactions with others.
one’s self – it is the part of the
Self-socialization – a developmental
process that allows us to reflect upon and self that prevents a person
argue with ourselves for us to develop an from being a rule-breaker or
accurate self-image disregarding the expectations
- this process begins in early of society
childhood and has many influencing ● I – the representation of the
factors such as the family, peers,
person’s identity based on the
teachers, and the media
response to the ‘me.’
o allows us to bend some rules
George Herbert Mead
governing social interactions,
● Social Self Theory which enables us to still
o the sense of self is developed express our creativity,
through social interactions, originality, and imagination.
such as observing and ● According to Mead, the ‘me’ and the
interacting with others.
‘I’ make up the self (Mead, 1934).
● The self is not yet present at birth.
Rather, it is developed over time
from social experiences and
activities.
● Three activities that develop self:
o language – a person’s attitude
and opinions towards another
person are conveyed using
language
o play – the self is developed
since it allows us to take on
different roles, pretend, and
express expectation of others
o games – develop the self by
allowing individuals to
understand and adhere to the
rules of the activity, teaching
them the value of
accountability
● Me – considered the socialized
aspect of the individual, which
represents the learned behaviors,
attitudes, and expectations of
others and of the society
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF
▪ man is called a
THE SELF
Anthropology is the scientific “culture-bearing
study of humanity. It studies the human animal”
condition in terms of biological and o It encompasses everything
that is socially learned and
cultural aspects. One of the major
shared by the members of the
branches of anthropology is cultural
community.
anthropology.
● People acquire knowledge, beliefs,
Cultural anthropology is the study
values, traditions, customs,
of human cultures, specifically about
gestures, language, norms, the
people’s beliefs, values, practice,
meanings of objects and social
traditions, languages, activities, and other
interactions, among others.
domains. This field primarily examines how
o These intangible aspects of
people create and share a common
culture are transmitted to the
cultural system and how this system, in
succeeding generations.
effect, shapes them.
o People in turn redesign the
culture they acquired and
EDWARD BURNETT TYLOR
introduce changes to its
¡ Culture
which then become part of
● Edward B. Tylor was an English the social heritage of the next
anthropologist who was considered generation.
the founder of cultural ● It is crucial that we develop
anthropology.
sociological imagination, where we
● He published his book the Primitive must analyze the impact of culture
Culture (1871) where he theorized to our lives.
the progressive development of o espoused by Charles Wright
primitive cultures to more civilized Mills
and modern ones. o Sociological imagination is a
tool used on understanding
● He was credited for coining the
the world from a sociological
term animism in which all things (i.e. perspective.
objects, places, and creatures)
possess distinct spiritual essence ● Henslin (2015) claimed that culture
or, are alive. touches almost every aspect of
who and what we are. And because
● Definition of culture: “…that
of that, we already have been
complex whole which includes accustomed and oriented with our
knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, culture (also known as the “culture
custom, and any other capabilities within us”) that seldom do we
and habits acquired by man as a question our assumptions about it.
member of society.”
● Our culture remains imperceptible
● The concept of culture has been
to us (except in unusual situations).
given much attention in the field of o We almost always follow our
anthropology. culture without question. This
● Culture is defined as the way of life. implies that we must examine
o It shapes how people think, our cultural assumptions and
act, and feel. recognize how culture affects
o It is a social heritage into our lives.
which a person is born.
¡ Material and Nonmaterial Culture behaviors of its
members
Nonmaterial
Material Culture
Culture four most
important
physical objects, intangible or
aspects: symbols,
resources, and abstract ideas that
language, values,
those things people have about
and norms
created by their culture
humans; these
tangible aspects
¡ Characteristics of Culture
of culture often also called as
1. Culture is learned
distinguish a group symbolic culture
of people and ● Culture is not biologically
define their culture inherited but it is acquired.
and help define the refers to people’s ● Culture is socially learned by
behaviors and ways of thinking
individuals living in a group or
perceptions of its and doing society.
members
● Much of learning culture is done
examples: art, examples: beliefs, unconsciously.
books, furniture, values, morals, o we learn through
clothing, hairstyles, religion, traditions, observing, socializing, and
jewelries, utensils, customs, norms, adopting cultures from our
tools, weapons, rules, mores, (social institutions)
machines, folkways,
automobiles, sanctions, Major Processes to Acquire Culture
goods and language, Enculturation Acculturation
products, gestures,
buildings, homes, organizations, It is the process of It is learning the
cities, offices, social institutions learning your own appropriate
schools, churches, culture. behavior of one’s
synagogues, host culture.
It is considered as
temples, mosques, example: set of the process of It is the process of
etc. ideas and beliefs first-culture learning another
about God, learning. culture.
worship, morals,
and ethics. They It involves two It is described as
determine how major aspects – the process of
members behave informal (child second-culture
and respond to training, by the learning.
religious events family) and formal
and issues (education, by the
school and
Amazon: weapons sociologists often religion).
to hunt refer to various
processes that a
American: digital BERRY’S MODEL OF ACCULTURATION
culture uses to
devices to survive
shape the Assimilati occurs when individuals
in college and
thoughts, feelings, on adopt the cultural norms of
business
 a dominant or host culture ● Culture is not homogenous
over their original culture
among individual members
despite the shared nature of
culture
occurs when individuals
reject the dominant or host ● Culture varies individually –
culture in favor of individuals do not all have the
preserving their culture of exact same version of their
Separation origin. Separation is often culture.
o There are some things
facilitated by immigration
that every person in a
to ethnic enclaves.
culture shares, like a
language for example. And
then there are things that
occurs when individuals some people or some
are able to adopt the subgroups of people
cultural norms of the share, like a certain
dominant or host culture religion. And then there
while maintaining their are things that are
Integration culture of origin. individual, that are done
Integration leads to, and is by just one person or
often synonymous with maybe a few people. So,
biculturalism. culture is shared, but it’s
also complicated.
● Subcultures: These are a group
occurs when individuals of people within a culture that
reject both their culture of have some kind of unique beliefs
Marginaliz origin and the dominant or behaviors, but still share
ation host culture. things in common with the
mainstream culture. Subcultures
are subsets of the mainstream
culture.
● Pluralistic Societies: Societies
that consist of many subcultural
groups (e.g. Canada – different
religions, ethnicities, social
classes)
● Countercultures: groups of
people that deliberately take on
beliefs and behaviors that are
the opposite of the mainstream
2. Culture is shared culture, i.e., bright colored hairs,
tattoos, piercings, nonconformist
● Collective meanings, and anti-consumerist
understandings, and practices
are generated when people 3. Culture is symbolic
share their culture among
● Culture encompasses a
members of society.
collection of symbolic
 knowledge that members of
● Two processes: biological and
society share
cultural adaptation.
● People learn their cultural beliefs
● Biological adaptation: consists
and behaviors through symbols
of biological changes that occur
● symbol: something that stands over time.
for something else o example: humans have
● Symbols are arbitrary and vary biologically adapted with
their environment – people
across cultures. living near the equator
o It doesn’t inherently mean tend to have darker
something not unless complexion compared to
when people decide what others living far from the
meaning they would equator
attach on that symbol.
o Symbols will only have ● Cultural adaptation: Culture
meaning when people helps people to adapt in their
agree on their use. environment.
o example: people have to
● example: wedding rings –
utilize fur coats and
marriage; traffic lights, language, sweaters to be able to
money, art survive in cold climates
● language is the most important ● Culture helps people adapt in
symbolic element of culture changing environments.
because it enables culture to
spread from one generation to ● Some aspects of culture are
the next. maladaptive which pose some
risks or threats to people’s lives.
4. Culture is integrated o example: industries and
● Culture is a complex system that factories pollute air
quality, thus affecting
consists of many parts that are humans and living
interconnected to each other. creatures to survive
● Holism: various parts of culture ● Cultural adaptation is relative:
are interrelated. what is adaptive in one culture
● Each cultural parts (family, may not be adaptive in another
education, marriage, religion, culture.
government, economics, o example: people working
technology, medicine, and in advanced societies –
language) can affect others. people whose livelihood
only involved herding
● When one part of the cultural animals and live in remote
system changes, other parts also areas
change because everything is
interconnected. 6. Culture is dynamic
● Cultures are not static but they
5. Culture is adaptive
change over time as a result of
● Adaptation means how living cultural interactions and
organisms adjust with their exchanges.
environment.
 ● Other parts of the entire cultural change is
made when
system will also adjust if one
a new
component in the system
cultural
changes, since cultures are
integrated. element is
adopted
● All cultures adapt in the changing and
environments. modified by
people in
Factors that affect Cultural Change their own
terms.
Cultural Cultural Cultural
Diffusion Lag Leveling Example: Example: a Example:
beauty group’s Japan has
People William Cultural standards nonmaterial not only
learned Ogburn leveling is culture lags adopted
from one coined the the process behind capitalism
another and term where technologic but also the
adopted cultural lag. cultures al Western
those which become innovations forms of
they increasingl music and
considered Not all parts y similar to fashion.
desirable of culture one
change at another.
the same GEORGE PETER MURDOCK
People pace. ¡ Cultural Universals
spread Material Marshall
● George Peter Murdock, an
ideas, culture McLuhan
things, typically described it American anthropologist, posited
the concept of cultural universal
and/or changes as a global
which encompasses the general
behaviors first while village,
customs and practices that exist in
between the where time all societies.
cultures. nonmaterial and space
culture lags becomes ● Cultural universals are the learned
behind. increasingly behavioral patterns that are
It is irrelevant. collectively shared by people.
important to ● People share these universal traits
note that no matter where they live in the
cultural world.
diffusion
● Murdock classified cultural
goes in
both universals into four categories:
(1) Appearance: body
directions,
ornaments, hairstyles
or it is not a
(2)Activities: dancing, sports,
one-way games, interactions
process. (3)Social Institutions: family,
education, religion,
economy
Cultural
 (4)Customary Practices: examined sociology using a
cooking, gift giving, scientific inquiry approach
hospitality, folklore and empirical facts. His
contributions initiated the
● Examples of human cultural traits:
establishment of sociology as
a scientific discipline.
● Social norms consist of wide-
ranging implicit and explicit
prescriptions that dictate people’s
behaviors in particular situation.
● These are usually established social
¡ Cultural Particulars expectations and rules which guide
● Not all cultural universals are carried people what to think and believe,
how to behave, and how to interact
out the same way as what other with others.
societies do.
● People learn social norms through
● The extent to which these general
their daily interactions with people
traits, although these cultural and institutions (i.e. family, peers,
universals are present in all teachers, media) and in various
societies, vary from one society to settings
another.
● Norms vary widely across cultural
● Different societies have developed
groups.
their own specific ways to express
these universals, called cultural ● Norms can often change over time.
particulars.
● It can be based on subculture and
● example: child-rearing practices, setting.
where in the US it is primarily the o Example: what is perceived to
mother who is expected to take be a desirable behavior
care of the children, while in New among a group of friends may
Guinea it is the father who takes the be undesirable behavior in
duty the workplace.
● example: deaf subcultures who use
Type Definition
sign language instead of verbal
language to communicate with Folkways, sometimes known
others as conventions or customs,
are social norms that
WILLIAM GRAHAM SUMNER emerged out of casual
Folkway
¡ Cultural Norms interactions, repetitions, and
s
● William Graham Sumner, an routines.
American sociologist who published Norms that stems from and
the Folkways: A Study of the
organizes casual interaction
Sociological Importance of Usages,
Manners, Customs, Mores, and Mores Mores are norms of morality.
Morals (1906), was often Norms that structure the
considered as one of the founding difference between right and
fathers of American sociology. wrong
o He was one of the pioneering
modern sociologists who
 ● It views one’s own culture as the
A taboo is a social or cultural best and the only appropriate way
banning of an action or to behave and adapt.
behavior. ● Small amounts of ethnocentrism are
evident in all societies.
Taboos
Strong negative norm; Two effects of Ethnocentrism
violating it results in extreme
disgust Positive Negative
Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism

It provides a It is characterized
Laws are the “formal body of positive function by a person’s
rules enacted by the state by fostering group unwillingness to be
and backed by the power of solidarity and tolerant with other
Laws the state”. loyalty. It helps to cultures and sees
Norm that is formally create a sense of one’s culture as
inscribed at the state or cultural pride and it superior over the
federal level. establishes others.
cohesive groups. Accordingly,
negative
● Social Control: People must ethnocentrism can
conform to social norms in order for Examples of this lead to derogatory
the culture to exist and function. include flag, stereotyping,
o Norms must be internalized national anthem, conflict, hostility,
and transmitted to members songs, school, war, cultural
of societies to produce among others. destruction such
conformity. as genocide and
o Defying social norms colonization, and
necessitate the use of social In a positive note, the blockage of
control or social sanction ethnocentrism cultural adaptation.
mechanisms such as enables people to
ostracism, penalties,
be content and
punishments, and
fulfilled with their
imprisonment.
o However, many societies own cultures.
tolerate some deviation of
social norms though, like ¡ Cultural Relativism
some aspects of folkways.
● The German anthropologist Franz
EVALUATION OF CULTURE Boas, was also known as the father
¡ Ethnocentrism of modern anthropology,
developed the concept of cultural
● Ethnocentrism was coined by
relativism.
William Graham Sumner in his book
Folkways (1906). ● Cultural relativism is the practice of
judging the behaviors and customs
● It is based on the assumption that
of any culture based on its own
one’s own culture is superior to all standards.
other cultures.
 ● Cultures from different societies ● This transforms people’s beliefs.
must be understood un the context
● It affects their personal body image
of their own beliefs, values, and
standards, rather than viewing it and self-esteem.
from the lens of one’s own culture. ● People would lack a sense of pride
● Practicing cultural relativism of their own cultural identities.
requires being impartial, open-
minded, and tolerant to consider ¡ Cultural Genocide
and/or adapt distinct or new ● A more horrible form of cultural
cultures. degradation is cultural genocide or
● The problem of cultural relativism is ethnocide.
that it may be used to exempt ● Cultural genocide is “the attempted
certain practices that violate human destruction of a group’s culture,
rights such as those cultures who religion, and identity” (Treglia,
practice cannibalism or female 2016).
genital mutilation in countries of
Ethiopia and Sudan. ● It is a coercive act imposed by a
● Generally embracing everything dominant group upon a weaker or
minority group.
about a particularly culture is not
always possible. ● It aims to eradicate and destroy
● Absolute Cultural Relativism and cultural artifacts (e.g. books,
artworks, structures) and suppress
Critical Cultural Relativism cultural activities that do not adhere
to the dominant culture.
¡ Xenocentrism
● Cultural genocide may be
● Xenocentrism was coined by
committed due to suppression of
American sociologists Donald P. indigenous cultures, religious
Kent and Robert G. Burnight in 1951 motives, imperialism, and
sourced from their published article, colonialism.
“Group Centrism in Complex
Societies”. ● Generally, it is associated with
● Xenocentrism is the opposite of forced religious conversion and with
forced assimilation policies which
ethnocentrism. involve banning cultural
● It refers to a person’s preference of expressions.
other cultures than one’s own.
¡ Cultural Assimilation
● The person believes that other
● Cultural assimilation is the process
cultures are superior than one’s own
culture. by which people from different
cultural and ethnic backgrounds are
● The one’s own culture is perceived absorbed into the dominant culture
as inferior. of society.
● It is the process of taking the traits
CHALLENGES OF CULTURE
¡ Cultural Degradation of the dominant culture to such
extent that the assimilating group
● Cultural degradation is caused by becomes socially identical with
too much exposure of media in other members of society.
various forms.
● Cultural assimilation is also the
most extreme form of
acculturation.
● It occurs when the dominant culture
overshadows the inferior or minority
culture, which can eventually
misplace the latter’s cultural
identities.
● It can be undertaken voluntarily or
by force, but it is rare for a minority
group to completely replace their
former cultural practices.
● Forced assimilation: is the process
of compelling the minority group to
assimilate the dominant culture. The
downside of this caused an
enduring negative consequences of
the recipient culture.
● Voluntary assimilation: is usually
provoked by a social pressure from
the dominant culture.
o For example, during the
Spanish inquisition in the late
14th and 15th centuries, many
Muslims and Jews countered
the religious persecution by
willingly converting
themselves to Roman
Catholicism. Despite this,
they secretly have maintained
to practice their original
religions.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE
● Subconscious/Preconscious Mind
SELF
– It consists of anything that could
The psychology of the self centers potentially be brought into the
on the representation of a person based conscious mind.
on his or her experiences. These
● Unconscious Mind – it is the
experiences are either derived from home,
school, and other groups of organizations reservoir of feelings, thoughts,
which an individual is involved. The ‘self’ urges, and memories that are
appears to be one of the most introduced outside of our conscious awareness.
concepts, implying that behind a person’s It contains contents that are
physical characteristics lies one’s unacceptable or unpleasant, such
psychological identity. as feelings of pain, anxiety, or
conflict.
Psychology is the scientific study of
the human mind and its functions, ¡ Psychodynamic Theory
especially those affecting behavior in a ● Id – It is the most primitive of the
given context.
three forces and operates at an
unconscious level. As far as the id is
WILLIAM JAMES
concerned, the world exists to
(Father of American Psychology)
provide him pleasure, happiness
¡ ‘I self’
and satisfaction. All his drives and
● is the reflection of what people see desires are released without
in one’s actions in the physical world inhibitions and prohibitions. S/he
follows the principle of pleasure.
(e.g. recognizing that one is reading,
S/he gets what he wants and
running, or drinking)
realizes his/her ends at all costs.
● is the thinking, acting, and feeling When the person is id-dominated,
self s/he becomes aggressive, spoiled,
self-centered, arrogant and selfish,
¡ ‘Me Self’
and always wants to profit in any
● represents an individual’s reflections undertaking. According to Freud,
about himself or herself (e.g. there are two biological instincts
make up the id:
branding oneself as a risk-taker,
o Eros – the instinct to survive
intelligent, or kind)
that drives us to engage in
● constitutes the physical and life-sustaining activities
psychological capabilities that make o Thanatos – the death instinct
who you are that drives destructive,
aggressive, and violent
SIGMUND FREUD behavior
(Austrian neurologist and founder of ● Ego - It prevails over the id when a
Psychoanalysis) child becomes exposed to
¡ Psychoanalytic Theory environmental constraints. A child’s
● Conscious Mind – it contains all of tendencies are tempered because
the thoughts, memories, feelings, of his exposure to parental
and wishes of which we are aware prohibitions, social norms and
at any given moment. This is the conduct, school training and
aspect of our mental processing teachings, and peers’ standards and
that we can think and talk about influences. When a child grows and
rationally. develops and recognizes certain
requirements of living, his reasoning
 begins to operate and to control the resolved. If these psychosexual
primitive energies. The individual stages are completed successfully,
will forego his immediate a healthy personality is the result. If
satisfaction in conformity with certain issues are not resolved at
society so the greater pleasures the appropriate stage, fixations can
later are assured. The ego acts as occur.
both a conduit for and a check on
● A fixation is a persistent focus on
the id, working to meet the id’s
needs in a socially appropriate way. an earlier psychosexual stage. Until
It is the most tied to reality and this conflict is resolved, the
begins to develop in infancy. individual will remain "stuck" in this
stage.
● Superego - When a child grows and
has absorbed many parental 1. Oral Stage
prohibitions and sanctions and
● Age Range: Birth to 1 year
moral concepts, a part of his ego
becomes his third force. Most of his ● Erogenous Zone: Mouth
functions are carried on the
subconscious level. This is now the ● Conflict: weaning process
conscience which establishes
● Fixation/s: dependency or
what is right and what is wrong. It
becomes the moral foundation of aggression
behavior. It sets goals or standards
which the ego is compelled to 2. Anal Stage
follow. The superego is the portion ● Age Range: 1 to 3 years
of the mind in which morality and
higher principles reside, ● Erogenous Zone: Bowel
encouraging us to act in socially and and Bladder Control
morally acceptable ways.
● Conflict: toilet training
● When the three forces are in
● Fixation/s: Anal expulsive,
harmony with each other, there is
happiness and wholesome anal retentive
adjustment but when they are in
conflict with each other, the results 3. Phallic Stage
are tensions and anxieties. ● Age Range: 3 to 6 years

¡ Psychosexual Stages of Development ● Erogenous Zone: Genitals

● Freud believed that personality ● Conflict: Oedipus
developed through a series of Complex – castration
childhood stages in which the anxiety; Electra Complex –
pleasure-seeking energies of the id penis envy
become focused on certain
erogenous areas. 4. Latent Stage
● An erogenous zone is characterized ● Age Range: 6 years to
as an area of the body that is Puberty
particularly sensitive to stimulation.
● Erogenous Zone: Sexual
● Each stage of development is
feelings are inactive
marked by conflicts that can help
build growth or stifle development,
depending upon how they are
 ● The superego continues to ● Ego and superego were
develop while the id’s fully formed and
energies are suppressed. functioning at this point.
● Children develop social ● Teens in the genital stage
skills, values, and of development are able to
relationships with peers balance their most basic
and adults outside of the urges against the need to
family. conform to the demands
of reality and social norms.
● The development of the
ego and superego
contribute to this period of
calm.
● The latent period is a time CARL ROGERS
of exploration in which the (American Psychologist, Humanist
sexual energy is repressed Psychologist)
or dormant. This energy is ¡ Real Self
still present, but it is ● It is also called as the self-concept.
sublimated into other
areas such as intellectual ● It includes all those aspects of one’s
pursuits and social being and one’s experiences that
interactions. are perceived in awareness by the
individual.
● This stage is important in
the development of social ● It is the part of ourselves where we
and communication skills feel, think, look, and act involving
and self-confidence. our self-image.
● Fixation/s: Immaturity and
¡ Ideal Self
an inability to form fulfilling
relationships as an adult ● It revolves around goals and
ambitions in life, is dynamic, the
5. Genital Stage idealized image that we have
developed over time.
● Age Range: Puberty to
Death ● it is the person that you aspire to be

● Erogenous Zone:
¡ A wide gap between the ideal self and
Maturing sexual interests the real self indicates incongruence
● The individual develops a and an unhealthy personality.
strong sexual interest in ● If the way that I am (the real self) is
the opposite sex. aligned with the way that I want to
● Interest in the welfare of be (the ideal self), then I will feel a
others grows during this sense of mental well-being or
stage. peace of mind.

● The goal of this stage is to ● If the way that I am is not aligned

establish a balance with how I want to be, the

between the various life incongruence, or lack of alignment,
areas. will result in mental distress or
anxiety.
¡ The greater the level of incongruence o A healthy false self is one that
between the ideal self and real self, the works with and stays
greater is the level of resulting distress. committed to the true self.
o It is a form of useful self-
protection, in that it shields us
DONALD WINNICOTT at times when vulnerability
(English Pediatrician and Psychoanalyst) would not be appropriate, or
¡ True Self might even be harmful.
● It has a sense of integrity, of ● Unhealthy False Self
connected wholeness that harks to o This false-self is the one
the early stage. behind many dysfunctional
● The true self of the infant, in behaviors, including
narcissism and addiction.
Winnicott’s formulation, is by nature
o The unhealthy false self is
asocial and amoral.
one that fits into society
● It isn’t interested in the feelings of through forced compliance
others; it isn’t socialized. rather than a desire to adapt.
o Real-life examples of the false
¡ False Self self are based around certain
beliefs that we take on in
● It is the capacity to behave
order to fit into our worlds
according to demands of external better: “If I am pretty, I will be
reality. more likeable; If I have a lot of
● It is used when the person has to money, I am successful; If I
work hard or achieve more, I
comply with external rules, such as
will have more value.”
being polite or otherwise following
social codes. ▪ All these beliefs are
● The false self constantly seeks to false self beliefs.
anticipate demands of others in
order to maintain the relationship.
● Healthy False Self
o It is described as one which
allows someone to be
functional in society.
o It enables politeness and
social courtesy, even when
we may not feel like it.
o We use our healthy false self
– one that functions perfectly
and allows us to live our lives,
but protects the true self,
keeping it safe until a time
when we are around people
we know we can’t trust.
o A major component of the
healthy false self is
awareness of personal
boundaries.